Can-opener.



A. W. REKENTHALER.

CAN OPENER.

AFPLICATiON FILED MAYH. 1916.

l o Patented Aug. 20, 19163 AN THON IE 'W. REKENTHALER, 0F DUNLO, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAN- OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug, 2o, 1918.

Application filed may 11, 1916. I Serial No. 96,837.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTHONIE W. REKEN- THALER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dunlo, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImpr'ovements in Can-Openers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

v This invention relates to an improved can opener, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a simple, convenient, and highly eilicient construction, which may be manufactured at a very low cost.

A special feature of the present improved construction lies in the provision of a guiding member adapted to lie on the outside of a can and to engage underneath the flange joining the top and side Walls of the can. With a guiding member so arranged and constructed, a very powerful leverage may be exerted in manipulating the tool to cut the metal with the blade, without any danger ofthe tool slipping of? the can. This construction obviates practically all danger of cutting the hand, when opening the can, and, at the same time, greatly increases the efiiciency of the tool without materially addingto the cost of manufacture.

A full understanding of the invention will be attained from the ensuing detailed.

description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a structural embodiment of the invention in a preferred form. The novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out and specified in the claims at the end of the specification.

in the drawings Figure l is a side elevation showing one form of can opener at the left hand end of the shank and a modified form at the right hand end of the shank.

Fig.2 is an enlarged detailed view of the form illustrated at the left hand end of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig, 4 isa plan view of a blank showing the method of constructing the blade and the guiding. member.

Fig. 5 is a perspective viewshowing the application of the can opener, illustrated in Fig. 2, to a can. 1

and constitutes the handle of the may be provided,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of the form of can openerillustrated at the right hand end of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional elevation on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Like characters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

In the embodiment of the invention illus trated niore particularly in Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, the shank A is provided with a blade B, the latter bein spaced from the plane of the shank, and preferably lying approximately parallel thereto. The said shank A, inthe present instance, consists of an elongated fiat bar of suitable metal,

tool, although any preferred form of handle grip if desired. The blade B is sharpened along its front edge to form a cutting edge 6, which is preferably arouately shaped in the inclined'forwardly toward the top of the blade and with relation to the longitudinal axis-of the shank A. If desired, the cut ting edge 5 may be notched or serrated, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. A convenient way of obtaining the proper inclination of the blade consists in bending the metal supporting the blade over the front face of the shank and at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the shank, the angle being sufliciently great to provide for a comparatively wide sweep when oscillating the tool up and down along the can in performing the cutting operation. The blade is designed to penetrate the metal of the top of a can along a line adjacent the flange joining the top ofthe can with the sides, and to out the'metal by a downward pressure on the handle or shank A, as indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 5. This mode of operation is preferableto that now generally in use, because the downward stroke turns the edges ofthe metal at the out inwardly instead of outwardlv. and the danger of cutting the hand on the edges of the tin, in operating the tool to remove the plane of the blade and cover of a can, is thereby reduced to a minimum degree. At its lower end the blade B is preferably pointed, as shown. The blade B, in cutting the top ofi' a can,

is guided by the member C. This guiding member is adapted to lie against the side wall of the can and to engage underneath; the flange joining the top\a11d side walls of the can. The end of the guiding member ini .Q engagement with the acts a in;

-"- 111;; face 0 e cruin about which the up and down movements of the blade are effected; co bined etlect of the blade located between edges of the cut termed in the top of and the guiding member in engagement with the flange, is to lock the tool in t can, while beingoperated. M

the tool slipping when in operation, greatly reduced and by the inioro' ed tool the present invention, can-sanity be ope.

hus danger oi 1s with coinpi ati re safety. he ginning re nber C pro 1 in the side oi" the "*i'c n rr nine the r ar nic- 0 01 l to clear the t ing the tool,

sitioned b to permit the a can, when a being unc of the guiding ineniillustrated be noted t I tioned on the V111. forwardly of t-e blade 3, and. rear edge e of said me ber inclines toward-the ton in the same eral direction as the cutting edge Z )lade. This arrangement provides for the incrementthe blade in cutting the top off a can. The main lower portion of the front edge 0 of the guiding member is flush with the front edge a 01" the shank, but the extreme upper end oi the guiding nieinber projects the said edge a, as shown at. c in Said projection c is bounded. in the inclined edge 0 of the guiding member, and the top of the projection c is below the inner portion oi" angular bend Z) of the blade. projecting the uoper end of the guiding .n'ieinber beyond the 'iront edge of the shank, it is possible to position the blade quite close to the tront of said shank, and a very great freedom of movementor the tool is permitted.

The operation of the tool will be readily understood by an inspection of Fig. 5 of the drawing. As shown therein, the tool is applied by slipping it over the top edge of a can, the lower end oi the blade B being pushed into the metal or" the top of the can adjacent the edge. fifith the tool in this position the upper end oi the guiding member C will engage underneath the edge of tee flange, and form a fulcrum about which up and down movement of the blade may be effected. This "prevents the blade-'itroni slipping when making the out around the edge to remove the top. it it be desired to out along the side wall of the can adjacent the flange, the guiding member will engage the top or bottom wall, as the case be.

A most effective and cheap way of constructing the can opener, above described, is from a blank illustrated in Fig. As shown, the lower angular portion (Z of the beyon w i l the lower line of the shank portion A, and baclr close against the front lace o'i said portion A. This i the guiding; member. The upper angi ar portion d" is then bent downwar at an angle, as indicated by the dot ted i e but from the front face of portion to form the blade. The front w" of the blade will have been sharpened ureyiousy in any preferred way. i In the inoditlcatio illustrated in 6 and fi ths shank 2i curved downwardly and the end of too downwardly curved crcuate cutt ng er is inoi'ably in ie rear face the shank Pi ad} lie edge E, by a stud j. Foaid guiding oer is pro ded with a recess 7" to oer cessary clearance of the blade is i w w +1 n J12 at l the can, ant "1.1 a lag formed at the upper end otthe guiding member to tit beneath the flange at the edge of a can. The lower end of the guiding member is provided with a stop f for liiniting the Increment oi the guiding member. The entire- 5 .anl: and blade inoves about the guiding member when making the cut in the top a can.

What is claimed is:

can opener, including, in combina- WSllitllli, a blade carried by said shank. spaced therefrom, said blade having a orward cutting edge inclined relatively to he longitudinal axis of the shank, and a winding projection formed on the shanlr in la is parallel with and in front of the blade and with the rear edge ofsaid projest-ion inclined in the same general direction as the cutting edge, the outer face of said projection located between the blade and the shank and adapted to lie on the outside of a can, andt-he too of the projection positioned to engage underneath the flange joining the top and side walls of the can, substantially as described.

2. A can opener, including, in combination, a shank, a blade formed by an angular portion of said shank bent at an angle over the top edge of the latter and the blade lying in a plane spaced from and parallel with the plane of the shank, and guiding projection formed by another angular portion of the shank bent upwardly from the bottom edge of the shank and lying close against the front face of the latter, said projection positioned in "front of the blade and shaped to engage underneath the flange joining the top and side walls of a can, substantially as described.

3. A can opener including in combination ashanh, a blade carried by said shank spaced is bent upwardly on linepa-rallel ing member projecting from the side of the shank facing the blade with its rear edge inopener formed from a metal blank embodying a shank, a guiding member formed by bending up an angular portion as d on aline parallel with the lower line of the shank 15 and back against the front face of said shank, and a blade formed by bending an angular portion as d downwardly at an angle but away from the front face of the shank.

AN THON IE W. REKENTHALER. 

